KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
Thailand's Social Security Fund (SSF) , worth $77 billion , plans to invest $11.6 billion in global private assets as part of a significant strategic overhaul aimed at improving its historically low returns. The fund, which supports healthcare, unemployment benefits , and pensions for 25 million workers, has struggled with average returns of less than 3% over the past decade, far below its potential. Petch Vergara , a member of the SSF’s investment board and a former Goldman Sachs executive, emphasized that the fund's reliance on low-risk domestic investments is unsustainable. If the current strategy continues, the fund risks bankruptcy by 2051 . The move comes as Thailand’s population continues to age rapidly, with one-fifth of its 66 million people now over 60. The SSF’s new board, composed of elected members for the first time, approved an investment framework that will reduce the weighting of low-risk assets from 70% to 60% and increase higher-risk investments fr...